Mocha Brownies for Passover

As the sun sets, I would like to wish you all a Happy Passover! I know that many of you are busy  preparing for the holiday and festivities. I hope that your seder dinner goes well and you have a great time!  Though I am not Jewish, my husband is following the traditions and that means food for him has to be Kosher for Passover. So, for something sweet to enjoy, I made Mocha Nut Brownies for Passover.

While flipping channels at my parent’s house. I saw a cooking show by a Jewish grandmother called “Feed Me Bubbe.” I learned some new recipes from her, including mocha brownies made out of matzo, which I have adapted in this post. All of the recipes that I have tried turned out so well. Check out her cookbook here!

(amazon.com)

Matza cake meal replaces the flour for these brownies. Make sure that it is Kosher for Passover. Generally, cake meal is ideal for baking as it has a finer texture than Matzo meal, which is a little coarser and ideal for Matza balls.

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For those who are gluten-free. Don’t worry, you can use a gluten-free cake meal.

(https://www.glutenfreematzo.com)

There’s also gluten-free matzo. I  haven’t tried them, but I hear that many people think that these taste better than the regular matza. Matzo, matza, matzah. There are multiple spellings 😀

This brownie batter is just like making any other. Just melt the chocolate, mix up the wet and the dry ingredients, then combine.

This brownie batter was tasty. Don’t you taste your brownie batter? I used a square muffin pan for this batch. I lined the bottom of each square with parchment, then sprayed it with oil. That way, getting the brownies out of the pan are a breeze. Before baking, sprinkle with some chopped nuts (I used pecans).

Let it cool for a few minutes before taking it out of the pan.

This was a good brownie.  A little crumbly, but really good. I give it an “A.” Since I used the square muffin pan, the brownies were thinner. Baking it in a 9 x 9 inch square pan would make thicker brownies. This recipe works with an 8 x 8 inch square baking pan too, just a little thicker than the 9 inch pan.

I cut some of them in half diagonally to make triangles. The texture of these brownies was in between a fudge brownie and a cake brownie. Pretty nice, I think. The mocha flavor with the nuts went well together and made this brownie a stand out. This is definitely unlike any brownie you’ve had. Until a year or two ago, I never knew that Matzo can be used to make outstanding brownies! Yum 🙂

Mocha Nut Brownies for Passover

adapted from Feed Me Bubbe

Yield:  12-16 squares or 24 triangles

Ingredients (make sure all ingredients are kosher for Passover)

• 2 ounces bitter sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup vegtable oil (or melted coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup cake meal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso (or your favorite instant coffee)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1.5 tablespoons Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or other type of nuts)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 x 9 inch baking pan (or square muffin pan) with parchment and spray with oil.  Melt chocolate in microwave at 30 sec intervals or over a double boiler. Mix with the oil and set aside to cool down.
2. Dry ingredients:  In a small bowl, sift cake meal, salt, cocoa powder, and instant coffee.
3. Wet ingredients:  In another bowl, whisk the egg, sugar, vanilla, and yogurt until thoroughly combined. Whisk in the chocolate-oil mixture and mix well.
4. Fold in half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until combined. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with chopped nuts.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes. For square muffin pan, bake for 12-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted leaves a few crumbs. Cut while warm and enjoy!

Also, be sure to watch Bubbe’s video on how to make brownies for Passover!

Related articles

• Kosher chefs offer tips for learning to love matza (timesofisrael.com)
• Sweet Ways To Celebrate Passover (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Secret Tips to Making the Perfect Brownies (berries.com)
• Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cake Kosher for Passover (glutenfreerecipebox.com)